Florence

One city that is on my travel bucket list is Florence, Italy.

I have always wanted to visit beautiful Italy and soak in all its art, history, culture, dramatic elegance and then oh, the food!!! Pizza, pasta, gelato! My Mum and Dad holidayed in Italy many times and I have pictures of them visiting the Academia Gallery to see Michelangelo's alabaster sculpture of David and his extra large...er...hands. My Mum has a huge smirk on her face in the photos. 

I have been to Florence in Arizona and now I have also been to Florence in Oregon, whereas Florence, Italy, still eludes me. Ah well! One day!

The next stop on our Grand Adventure took us to the Heceta Beach RV park in Florence, Oregon.

The first few days after we arrived were wet and windy and so we had an enjoyable time hunkered down in the trailer with Kim working the stock market, Henry catching up with his gaming friends online and I settled down to read my beloved Kindle. I am reading Eleanor Elephant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. I am also making my way through the futuristic "In Death" murder mysteries by JD Robb. Lovely to just snuggle down with a cuppa tea and a warm blanket and just read. It's November and we are heading towards winter. I can feel the change in temperature and pressure in the air. I've been noticing the trees losing their leaves and the last of the summer blooms falling by the wayside. It is such a lovely change from the desert and I love settling in to each new season.

On the very next dry day, we headed in to town to explore the arty downtown area of Florence.

Lying at the mouth of the Siuslaw River, you enter Florence by passing beneath the expansive concrete double rainbows and ornamental art deco pillars of the Siuslaw River Bridge making a stunning backdrop for the downtown area with expansive views of the river and the bridge. The bridge is an iconic symbol of the city. Designed by Conde McCullough, opened in 1936, the key feature of the bridge is the double leaf bascule in the middle that lifts to allow clearance for fishing boat traffic. Along the banks of the tidal river, snowy plovers, a variety of sandpipers, blue herons, white egrets, cormorants, gulls, songbirds and other birds I couldn't quite identify, provided wonderful entertainment with their stooping, whooping and swooping. A lady in the crystal store told us she had even seen a couple of orcas chasing seals down the river and into the harbor last summer.

In the harbor we could see the halibut boats and signs for fresh local crab. We could hear sea lions barking somewhere in the distance. The tang of salt in the air made you lick your lips and yearn for a bag of chips wrapped in butcher paper with lashings of salt and vin, just like we would get on the seafront back home in England.. 

We spent a leisurely hour or two walking the main street, popping in and out of the shops that seemed to lean towards local crafts and art work, chatting with the friendly locals and enjoying the ambience of the riverfront. 

The sky turned a grisly grey and we felt the first spots of rain that quickly turned into a downpour. While Henry and I huddled under the awning of a nearby gallery, Kim dashed back to pick up the truck to collect us. We headed back to the trailer for an early dinner of Kim's special homemade chicken curry. Delicious!!!

Best. Curry. Ever.

​❤️❤️❤️